Inertia buffer



Dec. 13, 1949 P, H, DIXON 2,490,787

INERTIA BUFFER Filed Nov. 14, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 [nveuforw Paul.D/xon Dec. 13, 1949 H, WON 2,490,787

INERTIA BUFFER Filed Nov. 14, 1946 Y 2 SheetS- SheetQZ Patented Dec. 13,1949 TES 7 9 Claims.

This invention relates "to" 'energydissipating -bi-1fiers forreducing-thespeed of heavy, fast mov- -ing- '-ebjects and-isillustfatedas embodied in an *automatiw-B'Fmmrcan-nonsuclr as is fullydisclosedin an applicatiorrserial- No. 721,058 filed -'Jannary-9'; l94"7in my name.

=In =order"toincrease the cyclic-rate of 37 mm.

*cannoIr foFexa-hiple, for use" in airplanes, it-is necessary'to"increasefthe speed, in recoil and -co-unter=recoil, ofthe bolt'assembly ofsu'ch "cannon-to a-pbint which *rn'akes'it necessary-to'check the speedofsaid assembly near the" end ofits'moveinentincounter-recoil in order'to insure against breakageofparts and to insure the proper-locking' pfthe' bolt'assembly inbattery position.

W ith -the foregoing consideration in view" itis anobj ect *ofthe'pre'sentdnventiorrto provide" a --bi-iffer; two of'which may beadvantageously used for 'q uickly and-'efifeetively reducing the speedof the 'bolt'asseinblyof theabove-mehtioned cannonduri-n'g'r-itswrlovenient ln counter rec'oil.

In' the il-lustrative" construction," 'each of 'the 'biifiers"is-operatiVelyconnectedthrough a'latch -toafi'sliden -whichdorms part ofthe" bolt assemdcly, near the forward endbf the counter-recoil movementof" said slider;- thelatch being "disconneetedfromtheslider-before"saidsliderreaches its battery position; "the arrangement "being 'suchthat-when the slider is disconnected it "still has sufficient 'spe'ed'to cause a bolt formingpart' "of said assembly to' bemoved'to"its"locked position.

The -var-ious features oi the invention as defin ed in' *theaccompanyingclaims will be understoodandappreciated from-the following detaileddescription" read in' 'connection with 'the accompanyingdrawings' -in'which,

Fig. 1 is a perspective-view showing one "of a pair'pf-bufiersincorporated '"in' the gun in"sa'id application Se'riaFNor "721,058;

Fig. 2- isa sidewiew; partly"broken 'away and partly insectionjiilustratin'gthe'bufier of Fig: 1 atthetime' it 'is firstengaged by a slide of" a bolt 'assembly'of thegun; V

Fig? 3- is' a viewsimilar to' Fig? 2 'but showing the lcufier after "it'ha'sbeenrelased by "the slider but i's' held in its forwaidpdsitionby'said "slider;

Fig. 4 is an exploded view showing 'in" perspective the" various partsof the miller;

*Fig. 5 is a: section 'online V-'-V of Fig. 3;

Figs: 6 -7' and" 8 are-views on" line VI -VI ofFig. 5 showingtherelationof 'acage'andinertia block *ofthebuffer'duringdifferentstages of the checking-action of said bufi'er,"and "FigrQ is 'a'view on line Vl vTof Fig. 5 showing 2opposing-portionsof a slightly modified cage "and 1 inertia block.

"'Each' of the illustrative buffers 'of the'gg-un above referredto'comprisesa cage or slide" 5 which is provided with inturned" flanges32 (Figs.

1, 4, 5 and 6), 33 (Figs. 4 and 6) fitting in channel guides 34, 35respectively-"formed '-in"a"rai13B secured by a bolttfl' to a" barrelextension 42 "(Figs- 1, 2- and 3) of the'guma'lug '44;'which"is 10formed integral with" therail' and'engages'in a longitudinal guideway48', (Figs. 1, 3;4 and 5) of the cage, cooperating with thechannels34;"35 in. guiding said cage. in a'rectilinear' longitudinal pathextending lengthwise of the gun or parallel l5 to'the path ofmovementin' recoil and counter- "rec'oil of a slider '52'.(Fig.'1)"forming'part of a bolt'assemblyf53: of'the'gun. :Formedintegral withtthe-rail 36"isa lug 46"(Figs'.1 2; 3, 4 and '6) thepurpose of which will, appear later.

Arranged atopposite'sides of achamber, which is formed ,by the. rail 36and a channel or recess 54. of the cage 30", are rows of series ofV-shaped teeth 56,. 56a (Figs; 6t and '7) constituting racks 58, 58awhich face each other and extend lengthwise; of the path of movementof'the cage, front "and'rear operatingfaces 60, 62;'60a, 62a of "theteeth"56';"56a respectively being idisposed at to saidpathand the teethof the rack'at one "side ofthe channel being offset longitudinally'byone-half a toothifrom the teeth of the rackfiat "the other'side of the.channel. Mounted for transverse or lateral. movement in the channel 54'of the cage 3ll"with"its rear. and forward endsin sliding engagement(with faces 64 (Figs. 4," 6,17, 8 and 9), 66. (Figs. 2,: 4. and'6) ofthe lugs, 46' respectively, is an'inertia block 68 havinglat its upperand flower faces .'.rows or series'of 'V-"shapedteeth1ll (Figs. 6 and'7), 10a, which are similar to the teeth of the'racks 58, 58a of thecage30 and form racks 12, 12a (Figs; 4," 6 and'l) which face away fromeach other and wearranged'in oppc'sedland inter-engaging relation withthe racks 58; 58a of the cage. The inertia block' sa may be defined .asmovable in a path transverse lld'th pathiotmovement of the slide '30.

It will be noted. that the teeth 10;"10a. of the inertia" block"68" arein transverse alinement .or register, the distance" 14 (Figs. 6 and 7)between the ends'of the opposite oralined teeth of .said block being;slightly less than'the transverse. distance 16 between Oppositeportions-of the .teeth 5615611 'ofthe' racks 58; 58a on any straightline normaltothe. path. of movementof the ..cage,.lit

" being apparentth'atsince the teeth'56j'56a of said racks are offsetlengthwise by one-half a tooth the zig-zag channel 54 is of uniformwidth. With the above construction clearances Tl (Figs. 6 and '7) areformed between opposing racks 58, 12 and 58a, 12a.

As will be explained later, as the cage is moved forward, that is, inthe direction indicated by arrow 18, at a high rate of speed in responseto counter-recoil action of the slider 52, the operating or leadingfaces 6!] of the teeth 56 of the rack 58 are slammed, for example, asillustrated in Fig. 6, against the rear faces 8!] (Figs. 6 and 7) of theteeth ll! of rack 12 of the inertia block 68, with the result that saidblock is moved transversely, that is, in the direction indicated byarrow 8!, causing the faces 82a. of the teeth 18a to collide with rearfaces 62a of the teeth a as illustrated in Fig. 7, the leading faces 68aof the teeth 55a of the rack 58a. thereafter engaging the faces 80a. ofthe teeth 10a of the block 68 and thus causing faces 82 of the teeth"Ill of the block to move transversely in an opposite direction againstthe rear faces 62 of the teeth 56 of the rack 58, the oncoming leadingfaces 65 of the teeth 56 then striking the rear faces 80 of the teeth 10of the rack 58 to repeat the abovedescribed cycle of operation.

The channel 54, which extends lengthwise of the path of longitudinalmovement of the cage or slide 30, may be described as having serratededges or opposite sides bounded by teeth ar- .ranged in series or theform of racks extending lengthwise of said path. Moreover, it will beunderstood that since the teeth 56, 550., 80, 10a may deviate from theform shown in Figs. 6, '7 and 8 and have their ends and roots roundedoff, for example as illustrated in Fig. 9, the edges of the channel 54may be defined as sinuous or undulatory. In fact, sharp teeth of thebuffer will become somewhat rounded after being used for a short time.

The inertia block 68 which is confined in the channel 54 of the cage 30has its teeth 78, 75a arranged in series extending lengthwise of thepath of movement of the cage, as above explained, the teeth 10 at oneside of the block being positioned in transverse alinement or registerwith the teeth Illa at the other side of the block. Since the ends ofthe teeth or serrations of the block 58 may be initially roundedsomewhat as illustrated in Fig. 9, or may become rounded in use, theblock 88 may also be defined as having undulatory or sinuous edges andas being alternately wide and narrow, and wide portions of the block orthe distance 14 between the points or outer ends of the teeth 10, "Illaof the block -58 being slightly less than the width 16 of havinglongitudinally arranged serrations, rows of teeth 56, 560. or sinuousedges which are in inter-engaging relation with longitudinally arrangedserrations, rows of teeth 10, 10a or sinuous edges of the block 68, theserrations, teeth or sinuous edges of one of said members overlappingtransversely the opposing teeth, serra- MMWWMMW 4 tions or sinuous edgesof the other member. The teeth 56, 56a of the serrated or toothed edgesof the cage 30 or the projecting portions of the opposite sinuous edgesof the cage may be described as being off-set one-half a tooth or half aprojecting portion longitudinally from one another and as facinginwardly, that is toward one another, the teeth 10, 15a of the serratedor toothed edges or the projecting portions of the sinuous edges of theblock 68 being described as being in transverse alinement with eachother and as facing outwardly, that is away from each other.

The cage 30 has pivotally connected to it by a pin 86 (Figs. 1 to 4-) alatch 88 having a face 98 (Figs. 2 and 3) which, when the buffer is in aretracted position with the latch in coupling position in engagementwith a stop 92 (Fig. 1) rests on top of a lug 94 of the rail 36. Thecage 30 is held in its retracted position by a spring 96 encircling arod 98 which slides through bores 35 (Fig. 3) in depending lugs I82, I04of the cage, has a shoulder I06 (Figs. 3 and 4) engaged by one end ofthe spring and is in engagement with the barrel extension 42, the otherend of the spring engaging the lug ")2 of the cage.

As the slider 52, actuated by a reaction unit (not shown), moves incounter-recoil at a high speed, an abutment I08 formed integral with theslider engages a shoulder H0 of the latch 88, the face of which at thattime is sustained by the lug 9d of the rail 36, causing the cage 30 tobe moved forward until said face has been moved to its position shown inFig. 3, thereby permitting the latch to swing downward and the shoulderH0, which is arranged higher than the pin 86, to be lowered below theabutment I08. As the abutment I08 leaves the shoulder H0 it slides overan upper face of the latch 88 and in its battery position is still incontact with said face causing a face I 12 (Fig. 2) of the latch to beheld in contact with a bevel face I [4 (Figs. 2 and 3) of the lug 94,for the purpose of retaining the cage 30 in its forward position untilsuch time as the abutment I08 of the slide 52 has moved rearward inrecoil away from the latch, the spring 98 thereafter operating to movethe cage upon the rail 36 back to its rearward position in which thelatch 88 is in engagement with the stop 92.

In the illustrative embodiment the inertia block 68 has twelve teeth ateach of its upper and its lower edges, the teeth at each edge beingconstructed and arranged to engage opposing teeth of the cage. Byproviding a plurality of colliding surfaces the impact load is welldistributed thus insuring that the various parts stand up effectivelyunder considerable use.

By causing a plurality of collisions between the teeth of the cage 30and the teeth of the inertia block 68 a large amount of energy isquickly and effectively dissipated, resulting in the intermittentslowing down of the cage by the block. It will be apparent that theintermittent slowing down of the cage 30 results in a series ofcollisions between the latch 30 and the abutment I 08 of the slider 52and this, together with various friction losses between the parts, addsmaterially to the dissipation of the energy of the counterrecoilingslider.

The rateof dissipation of energy will vary approximately in accordancewith the square of the velocity of the moving parts, the restitutionfactor of steel being such that the velocity of the slider is materiallychecked afterthe teeth of the cage 30 have moved past a few teeth of theinertia block 68. As the high velocity is materially re- .i-theslide.of; a- -highly. desirable residual speed nece ,essary tocause said slideto lock-abolt associated +with ..it .in-.-bat tery .position.,.--In.order, however, "to insure thatstheresshall'not.be. any dragwhatsoevenoniltheislider i5 2\-,after. its speedshas been reduced; to a.valuesuflicientlyglowt to 2 effect the.

, .proper.-l ocking of thelboltsassembly parts,.the .\latch;'88,iscammed down out otdrivingrelation swithithe. abutmentfllfldofethe slider52-at a pre- .,determined time dependingupon the position-of ....the lug,Although. .thebuffer .has' been illustrated with ,referencel tosthe.aboveementioned gun :it will be ,Lunder'stood; that. suchrabuffer-maybe efiectively itsedlwhereveriit .is-Qdesiredsuddenly to reduce ...thespeed of fast'movingv parts.

Having .lthus ldescribed. my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patentof the United States is:

1. 'In a bufier, two members, one movable in a predeterminedc'pathand-:the; other movable in a path transverse to said path, means forconstraining -sa'id members for movement in said paths, each of saidmembers having twoseries-of serrations which:extend generally lengthwiseof said predetermined path and are positioned in .opposed relation tothe serrations, respectively, of :the otheritmember;'the' serrations ofone ofthe members overlappingthe-serrations of the other of saidrmemberslengthwise-of said transverse pathiand being' so-constructed'andarranged that 'imovment 0f said'one memberfin said; predetermined-'path--will"cause movement of the other member in said transverse path.

2. In a butler, a slide movable in a fixed path, said slide having achannel which extends generally lengthwise of said path and which is ofuniform width and has sinuous edges, an inertia block which is arrangedin said channel and is constrained for movement in a path disposed at asubstantial angle to said path, and means for constraining said slideand block for movement in said paths, said block having sinuous edgesand. being alternately wider and narrower in width, the wider portionsof the block being slightly less than the width of the channel.

3. In a buffer, a slide which is movable in a predetermined path and hasa pair of spaced racks extending lengthwise of said path and facingtoward each other, teeth of one of said racks being offset lengthwise ofsaid path from the teeth of the other, an inertia block which is movablein a path disposed transversely of said predetermined path and which isarranged in the slide and has a pair of racks facing away irom eachother, teeth of the racks of said block being positioned adjacent to theteeth of the racks of the slide and being in alinement lengthwise ofsaid predetermined path, means for constraining said slide and block formovement in said paths, and means for causing the slide to be moved insaid predetermined path at a high rate of speed, said racks of the slideand the block being so constructed and arranged that the racks of theinertia block are moved into colliding relation with opposed racks ofthe slide in response to movement of the slide in said predeterminedpath.

4. In a bufier, a slide which is movable in a predetermined path and hasspaced racks extending lengthwise of said path and facing toward Teach Yother, teeth ofone of said racks being staggered lengthwise ofvsaidpath*with relation to the teeth of: the other rack; an inertia blockmovable in a -path=extending transversely of said predetermined path andhaving racks facing away from each'other,zteethiof the'racks of theblock beingzsimilar to-the 'teethof the racks =-of the slide and beingarranged in alinement lengthwise of said predetermined-path, and' meansfor constraining said-=slide and block "for movement in said'paths,said-slide" having formed between .its racks aclear space whichextendslengthwise ..of said predetermined path and-which isslightly wider thanthe distance between the roots of opposing teeth of the-inertia blockplus the height of one of the teeth of said block. 50in a -buifer,a.-slide, an inertia block, means forconstraining the slide and the blockfor move- -ment in paths disposed at right angles to each other, saidblock andsaid slide having pairs'of opposed interenga'ging racks, teethof which are similar, the teeth of each of the racks of the slide'being'arranged inz a series extending lengthwise oi the patriotmovement of the slide andbeing offset lengthwisemfsaid path from theteethoi the-other rack, the teeth of the racks of the block .beingarranged in two series disposed lengthwise oi the path of movement- 0fthe slide, the teeth .of-bne of. the racks of saidfblo'ck being'arrangedin. alinement lengthwiseofthe,path of movement ofthe slide with-theteeth of the other rack of said block, the distance between the ends ofthe alined teeth of the block beingslightly less than thedistancebetween-Opposite; portions of the racks of: the slide.

-6.'.'I'n a buffer, a guide, a cage movable in a predetermined path onthe guide, said cage having a recess provided with opposite sides whichextend generally lengthwise of said path and are serrated, theserrations at one side of said recess being offset lengthwise of saidpath from the serrations at the other side of the recess, and an inertiablock which is positioned in the recess and has serrated opposite sides,serrations at opposite sides of the block being arranged in substantialalinement lengthwise of said path and being constructed and arranged tointerengage the serrations at opposite sides of said recess, theconstruction and arrangement being such that movement of the cage insaid path effects movement of the block transversely of said path,whereby the block is moved into colliding engagement with the cage tocheck movement of said cage and to absorb energy to slow down movementof said cage.

7. In a bulTer, a cage movable in a predetermined path and having spacedrows of teeth which are parallel to each other and to said path andwhich face each other, the teeth of one row being similar to the teethof the other row and being oiTset lengthwise of said path a half a toothwith relation to opposing teeth of the other row, an inertia block whichis movable in a path transverse to said predetermined path and which hasparallel rows of teeth which face away from each other and are similarto the teeth of the cage and which are arranged in alinement with eachother, the distance between opposing points on the opposite teeth of thecage being slightly greater than the distance between the ends ofopposing teeth of the block, a latch connected to the cage, means forholding the latch in a coupling position, and a heavy high speed member,the speed of which is to be reduced, constructed and arranged to engagesaid latch in its coupling position to move the cage in saidpredetermined. path, thereby causing the block to move transversely byhammering action of the teeth of the cage against the teethcn the block,with the result that movement of the cage is resisted and energy isdissipated by the interaction between the various parts to reduce thespeed of said high speed member.

8. In a bufier, a slide constrained for movement in a rectilinear path,an inertia block constrained for movement in a path disposedtransversely of said rectilinear path, means for constraining the slideand the block for movement in their respective paths, said slide andsaid block each having a pair of racks extendinggenerally lengthwise ofsaid rectilinear path, the racks on the slide being arranged in opposedrelation to the racks of the block, the teeth of one of the racks of theslide being offset lengthwise of said rectilinear path from the teeth ofthe other rack of the slide and the teeth of the racks of the blockbeing in transverse alinement with each other, opposed teeth of theslide and the block being constructed and arranged to interengage as theslide is moved in said rectilinear path, a heavy high speed member, andmeans for operatively connecting the slide to said member to eiTectmovement of the slide in said rectilinear path and movement of the blockin said transverse path to cause collisions between teeth of the slideand the block and accordingly dissipation of energy to check movement ofthe slide acted upon by said member in said rectilinear path.

9. In a buffer, a slide constrained for movement in a rectilinear path,means for imparting energy to be dissipated to the slide, said slidebeing provided'with a channel opposite sides of which are formed byracks extending generally lengthwise of said path, teeth of one of saidracks being ofiset lengthwise of said path with relation to teeth of theother of said racks, an inertia block which is arranged in said channeland is constrained for movement in a transverse path at right angles tosaid rectilinear path, means for constraining said slide and said blockfor movement in their respective paths, said block having opposite sideswhich are in opposed relation to the racks respectively of the slide andwhich are formed-by racks teeth of which are similar to each other andto the teeth of the racks of the slide, said block being movablein saidtransverse path in response to movement of the slide in saidlongitudinal path to cause the teeth at opposite sides of the blocktocollide with teeth of the racks at opposite sides of the channelintermittently to check movement of the slide and to cause energyimparted to the slide to be dissipated.

PAUL H. DIXON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 847,858 Ware Mar. 19, 19071,438,016 Bourke Dec. 5, 1922 1,579,234 Newman Apr. 6, 1926 1,875,704Cheatham Sept. 6, 1932 1,972,971 Barenyi Sept. 11, 1934 2,022,999Barrows Dec, 3, 1935

